This invention relates to a connector for use in communication systems such as mobile computers, projectors, televisions and the like, and other electric and electronic appliances, and more particularly to a connector having an auxiliary member which makes it easy to rotate or pivotally move a pivoting member of the connector even in a limited narrow space.
There have been connectors having a pivoting member which is pivotally moved to bring a connecting object such as a flexible printed circuit board or flexible flat cable into connection with the connector. Such a connector comprises at least a plurality of contacts, a housing, and a pivoting member. The connectors adapted to connect to a connecting object by a pivotal movement of the pivoting member are generally classified into a front lock type and a rear lock type. In the front lock type, the pivoting member is rotated on the side of a fitting opening of the connector into which the connecting object is inserted, while in the rear lock type, the pivoting member is rotated on the opposite side of the fitting opening of the connector.
As examples of connectors whose contacts are brought into contact with a connecting object by pivotally moving a pivoting member, incorporated herein are a connector of the rear lock type disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. H11-31,561 (1999) (Patent Literature 1), a connector of the rear lock type disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2004-71,160 filed by the applicant of the present case (Patent Literature 2), a connector of the rear lock type disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2007-173,043 filed by the applicant of the present case (Patent Literature 3), a connector of the front lock type disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2000-48,886 (Patent Literature 4), and a connector of the front lock type disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-231,348 filed by the applicant of the present case (Patent Literature 5).
Patent Literature 1
The invention of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. H11-31,561 has an object to provide a connector superior in operability and capable of reliably connecting flat cables. Disclosed is a connector so constructed that when a pivoting member 4 provided at an opening 6 on the opposite side of an inserting opening 5 for flat wires 8 is at the starting position of the pivotal movement, a pushing portion 4b of the pivoting member 4 does not abut against peripheries of corners 3a2 of contact elements 3 so that the connector is under the opened condition in which the flat wires 8 are freely inserted or removed, and when the pivoting member 4 is being pivotally moved, the pushing portion 4b of the pivoting member 4 pushes the peripheries of corners 3a2 of the contact elements to cause them to be elastically deformed so that contact portions 3a1 are connected under pressure to the flat wires 8, and at the terminal position of the pivotal movement of the pivoting member 4, the pushing portion 4b of the pivoting member 4 rides over the apexes P2 of the corners 3a2 of the contact elements 3 to produce forces in directions maintaining the connection state by elastic restoring force of the contact elements 3.
Patent Literature 2
The invention in the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2004-71,160 has an object to provide a connector capable of securely pushing a flexible printed circuit board 40 or flexible flat cable to contact portions 22 of contacts 14 by means of a slider 16 without detracting from strength of respective members and specifications or customer's demands, and achieving a superior operability, extremely smaller pitches of conductors and reduced overall height. Disclosed is a connector particularly achieving the reduced overall height of this object of the invention in that the connector comprises contacts 14 each comprising a contact portion 22, a connection portion 24, and an elastic portion 34 and a fulcrum portion 32 between the contact portion 22 and the connection portion 24, and a pressure receiving portion 20 extending from the elastic portion 34 in a position facing to the connection portion 24, and the contact portion 22, the elastic portion 34, the fulcrum portion 32 and the connection portion 24 being arranged in the form of a crank, and a slider 16 comprising pushing portions 36 provided continuously in the longitudinal direction and the slider 16 being pivotally mounted on a housing 12 so that the pushing portions 36 are pivotally moved in spaces between the connection portions 22 and the pressure receiving portions 20 of the contacts 14.
Patent Literature 3
The invention in the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2007-173,043 has an object to provide a connector 10 performing a stable connection with a connecting object, while considering acoustical technology and a reduced overall height of the connector. In a connector 10 to be detachably fitted with a connecting object, comprising a required number of contacts 14 each having a contact portion 26 adapted to contact the connecting object, a housing 12 holding and fixing the contacts 14 therein and having a fitting opening 20 into which the connecting object is inserted, and a pivoting member 18 for pushing the contacts 14, there is provided a shell 19 to cover the housing 12 provided with a ceiling portion 50 covering and insulating the contact portions 26 of the contacts 14, and the pivoting member 18 is provided with a projecting wall 60 extending in parallel with the ceiling portion 50 of the housing 12 so that when the pivoting member 18 is opened (when the connecting object is not inserted into the housing) the projecting wall 60 engages the upper surface 74 of the shell 60.
Patent Literature 4
The invention in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2000-48,886 has an object to provide an electrical connector for a flexible printed circuit board, having a construction not impeding a reduced overall height of the connector and enabling a smaller mounting area of the connector mounted on a printed circuit substrate. The electrical connector for a flexible printed circuit board comprises an insulating housing 3, a plurality of terminals 4 arranged in the insulating housing 3 in the transverse direction in parallel with one another with a predetermined pitch, and a pivoting cover 2 having a pushing portion for pushing the flexible printed circuit board against contact portions 17a of the terminals 4. The pivoting cover 2 is supported on the insulating housing 3 to be pivotally moved relatively to the insulating housing 3 on the side of an inserting opening 5 for the flexible printed circuit board, and when the pivoting cover 2 is pivotally moving, the deep portion 6 of the pivoting cover 2 positioned in the deeper portion of the housing 3 than the mounted portion of the pivoting cover 2 mounted on the housing 3 is moved along a circular path above the insulating housing 3 as viewed from the side of the inserting opening 5 for the flexible printed circuit board. In this manner, the pivoting cover 2 is pivotally movable in the width zone of the insulating housing 3 extending from the side of said inserting opening 5 to the deep portion 6.
Patent Literature 5
The invention in the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-231,348 has an object to provide a connector capable of securely pushing a flexible printed circuit board 42 or flexible flat cable against contact portions 20 of contacts 14 by means of a slider 16, thereby completely avoiding the connection failure. In a connector detachably fitted with a flexible printed circuit board 42 or flexible flat cable, comprising contacts 14 each having a contact portion 20 adapted to contact the flexible printed circuit board 42 or flexible flat cable, a block 12 for holding and fixing the contacts 14, and a slider 16 pivotally movably mounted on the block 12, the slider 16 comprises pushing portions 32 adapted to push the flexible printed circuit board 42 or flexible flat cable upon pivotal movement of the slider 16, and the pushing portions 32 are adapted to be constrained by the block 12 or the contacts 14 so as to prevent the pushing portions 32 from displacing in the directions opposite from their pushing directions when pushing the flexible printed circuit board 42 or flexible flat cable.
Recently, the trend in electric and electronic appliances, particularly communication appliances has been toward increasingly smaller geometries. With such a trend, the miniaturization of connectors has also progressed. Under these circumstances, connectors are often constructed that when a pivoting member has been pivotally moved into a locked condition, the height of the connector is substantially equal to that of a housing. As a result, it becomes very difficult to operate the pivoting member so as to be pivotally moved. Moreover, the connector of this kind is installed in an appliance for may cases so that it becomes difficult to obtain a sufficient space for pivotally moving the pivoting member, resulting in a poor operability.
Further, even if a space can be obtained, the difficulty remains in operating the pivoting member because the connector lies in the appliance. The problems noted herein have not been solved in the connectors of front and rear lock types disclosed in the above Patent Literatures 1-5.